From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:17-20)Young men and women, this is an especially pertinent passage to meditate upon. How many times have we all come across this passage and just glossed over it? We heard it in our childhood, and we were more interested in the fact that Simon and Andrew were fishermen than we were in the miracle herein contained. We will briefly dissect this passage in order to see the glorious truths contained within it, and we will start by considering Jesus' sermon.
It is a brief sermon. His preaching is concise. It is to the point. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It is not sophisticated. It does not require a lot of thought to digest. Initially, it strikes you as something that your pastor has included in at least a half dozen of his sermons. There is nothing out of the ordinary about this message. It is the same old doom and gloom message that we have all heard before. You think to yourself sarcastically, I better repent or else I will not enter into heaven. As you hear the words of Jesus, you may even picture a shaggy looking man holding a doom and gloom poster on the corner of the street screaming out to all passers by, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
You have heard these words before, and they had no effect on you. What have you to repent from? Why should you repent? How can you repent? What does repentance have to do with the kingdom of heaven? How can Matthew say that Jesus began to preach and record only one sentence?
Surely there must have been more to Jesus' preaching than this. This is not the kind of preaching we hear in churches anymore. This is doom and gloom prophesy. This is almost as bad as Jonathan Edward's Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. There is no choice set before you, but rather, a command. Repent! Repent from sin. Repent from sin because the kingdom of heaven is at hand and the goats will be separated from the sheep. Repent by turning from your wicked and sinful ways and rest wholly and completely upon the finished work of Christ your risen savior. No man or woman shall ever enter the kingdom of heaven stained and blemished by sin, and apart from Christ, there is no holiness or perfect righteousness. The preaching of Jesus is the same as the preaching of John the baptist. The same message is proclaimed. You grow tired of hearing it, and yet for all the times you have heard those words you have never considered their weight. Your ears are deaf and your eyes are blind to the glorious truth contained in this very simple sentence. You think that it will take more than one sentence to persuade you to consider accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. It will take more than a doom and gloom sermon to cause you to ask Jesus into your heart. More than this message from Christ will be necessary before you consider having a personal relationship with God. If these are your thoughts, then rest in peace. Put your mind at ease. Do not trouble your heart or soul. Rest easy, my friend, because the choice is not yours.
Jesus' words are not a choice put before you, but a command. The statement is not conditional. If you will repent, then you will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Or, if you desire to enter into the kingdom of heaven, then you must repent. No, the command is strong! The command is succinct! The command is strict! REPENT! It is not a choice of whether or not you will ask Jesus into your heart. Will you repent? Will you obey? Will you see the kingdom of heaven at hand? Will you see the stain of sin upon your person? Will you see that there is no cleansing of this stain without the pure blood of Christ? You do not have the luxury of time. You do not have the ability to wait and contemplate whether or not you will obey the command. Christ is calling you. Repent sinner, for the time is now at hand! Do not put it off another day! Do not wait until later to take your eternal state into consideration. You think you have until tomorrow. You think you can wait until another day to consider these things more in depth. The kingdom of heaven is at hand, now! This calling requires your immediate attention. This now brings us to Simon and Andrew.
Imagine, you are sitting in a boat. You are a fisherman, and this is not out of the usual. In fact, this is normal. You do this every day of the week. You get up early in the morning, tend to the nets, tend to the boat, cast off into the sea, and fish. You know your trade well, and it is all you really know. You have done it all of your life and you cannot see yourself doing anything else.
Along comes a man, walking along the shore. He yells out to you and your brother, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Who in their right mind would stop what they are doing, return to shore, throw their entire life aside, and follow a complete stranger? Were Simon and Andrew so desperate to quit the only trade they ever knew and follow the first person to come along with a different approach to life? Surely, Simon and Andrew thought, "Fishers of men? Sounds legitimate to me!" and got to the shore as fast as possible.
Matthew records the duration of time between Jesus' calling and their response. Immediately. Without hesitation. Straightaway. As soon as Jesus called them, they answered and followed.
There is no reasoning. There is no contemplation. Jesus did not call out to Simon and Andrew, "Hey guys? You want to be friends?" Jesus spoke with authority. Follow me. Simon and Andrew did not ask questions. They followed Him, and they did so without a moment's hesitation. They did not consider the costs. They did not hesitate to leave their lives behind. They did not ask questions or seek sound reasoning behind Jesus' command. To the world, their response is sheer foolishness, but to many a man and woman that has heard the same calling and responded in the same way, it is effectual calling.
Repent! Follow me! This is the calling to you. You will either obey or not. You will either answer or not. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The king of the kingdom is calling you. Bear his cross daily, lose your life, and you will gain it. Leave your tackle box, your fishing rod, and all you have ever known, and fall in rank immediately. If the King of the kingdom of heaven comes before you and tells you to repent and to follow him, will you ask, "Why should I? What's in it for me? What can you offer me that all these other religious figures can't? Why do I even need to follow a king? Why can't I just live my life any way I want and be content with that? Surely, there is not more than this life. What more could there possibly be? Could there be an eternity more? If there is, who is to say which faith is the right one? Why should I follow Jesus and not Buddha?" If these are your thoughts, you need not ask so many questions. The king is no longer present. He has called you to repent and follow him, and as you pondered the idea, the ranks have passed you by. If you do not fall in rank immediately, then this army is not for you. For if you were a loyal subject to this king, you would obey his command.
Surely, there is much much more to the doctrine of effectual calling that I have not included in this brief look. Christ Jesus knows his sheep by name. If they are His, they will answer when He calls. Only those who are enlisted will fall into rank. Only those who are predestined will immediately respond to Christ's call. With this in mind, will you follow immediately or wait for the next king to pass by and consider joining his ranks. There is only one kingdom of heaven and there is only one true king. The commands are very simple. Repent! Follow me! Do not make it harder than it is. Turn to Christ. Pray that the Holy Spirit would regenerate your heart, replacing your heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Pray that God the Father would declare you righteous, pardoning your sin and imputing the righteousness of Christ upon you. Pray that all the rest of your days would not be spent contemplating the meaning of life and what there is possibly after life, but resting instead upon the work of the Holy Spirit conforming you more and more into the image of your great, eternal, and glorious King Jesus!
Do not wait, but let your response be immediate like Simon and Andrew! Let it be said of you:
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him!
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